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New Jersey’s
location between significant metropolitan areas, its advanced infrastructure,
and its highly skilled workforce make the state an ideal center for business
and commerce. Various factors, however, have placed New Jersey at a
disadvantage, and we are now at a critical stage in securing the state’s economic
future. To recreate a stable environment where citizens, communities, and
businesses can thrive, we must act now. We need to make New Jersey an
affordable place to live and work for our residents.

To put the
state back on the path toward regional competitiveness and affordability,
Opportunity NJ is forming the New Jersey Economic Development and
Advisory Council.

Through
periodic and direct engagement with state policy leaders, the New Jersey
Economic Development and Advisory Council plans to deliver information,
research, and data about the impact of policies on job creation, economic
stability, and growth. The information that will be shared will come from
statewide stakeholder meetings and listening sessions that the Council will
conduct, using the Plan for an Affordable New Jersey as a guidepost for
discussions.

This will require a hard look at New Jersey’s fiscally
challenged and outdated legacy systems:

Pension

School Funding

Infrastructure

This also will require action in
critical areas to stimulate job growth:

A moratorium on new proposals and conditions
that stifle job creation

Reform of the state’s business tax
structure

Review of all regulatory mandates

Prioritization of economic
development incentives

To set the framework for
the creation of the Council, ONJ representatives have already met with and
established a working relationship with the staffs of Governor Murphy, Senate
President Sweeney, and Speaker Coughlin.

The time for
action is now. Together, we can create a New Jersey that no longer burdens, but
empowers its people, businesses, and communities.

Opportunity NJ: A Plan for An Affordable New Jersey was last modified: July 18th, 2019 by opportunitynj

The following recommendations are aimed at putting New Jersey back on the pathway toward regional competitiveness and affordability, leading to a stronger and fairer economy for our businesses, their employees and all of our residents and taxpayers.

NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka and NJ Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Thomas Bracken defend New Jersey businesses that too often get unfairly labeled as “bad actors.”

On September 18, join hundreds of NJ businesses to help shape a new Affordability Agenda for all New Jerseyans at the first-ever Affordability Summit. Learn more or register here: http://conta.cc/2uJxQS3

Defending New Jersey Businesses was last modified: August 18th, 2017 by opportunitynj

This November’s election for governor is a critical crossroad for New Jersey. In order to become more business friendly, affordable and stem the loss of jobs and residents to our neighboring states, New Jersey needs to accelerate our economic progress. On September 18, join hundreds of NJ businesses to help shape a new Affordability Agenda for all New Jerseyans at the first-ever Affordability Summit. Learn more or register here: http://conta.cc/2uJxQS3

Attend the First-Ever NJ Affordability Summit was last modified: September 19th, 2017 by opportunitynj

NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka discusses the need to advance an agenda to keep New Jersey competitive within our region, as well as some of the issues impacting affordability in the state, with NJ Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Thomas Bracken.

On September 18, join hundreds of NJ businesses to help shape a new Affordability Agenda for all New Jerseyans at the first-ever Affordability Summit. Learn more or register here: http://conta.cc/2uJxQS3

Advancing the Affordability Agenda in NJ was last modified: August 18th, 2017 by opportunitynj

NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka and NJ Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Thomas Bracken talk about OpportunityNJ, an organization they started dedicated to making New Jersey more affordable for businesses and residents alike.

On September 18, join hundreds of NJ businesses to help shape a new Affordability Agenda for all New Jerseyans at the first-ever Affordability Summit. Learn more or register here: http://conta.cc/2uJxQS3

OpportunityNJ: Uniting to Make New Jersey More Affordable was last modified: August 18th, 2017 by opportunitynj

On September 18, join hundreds of NJ businesses to help shape a new Affordability Agenda for all New Jerseyans at the first-ever Affordability Summit. Learn more or register here: http://conta.cc/2uJxQS3

The Strength of Non-Profits in New Jersey was last modified: August 18th, 2017 by opportunitynj

This November’s election for governor is a critical crossroad for New Jersey. In order to become more business friendly, affordable and stem the loss of jobs and residents to our neighboring states, New Jersey needs to accelerate our economic progress. On September 18, join hundreds of NJ businesses to help shape a new Affordability Agenda for all New Jerseyans at the first-ever Affordability Summit. Learn more or register.

What to Expect at NJ’s First Affordability Summit was last modified: August 18th, 2017 by opportunitynj

This November’s election for governor is a critical crossroad for New Jersey. In order to become more business friendly, affordable and stem the loss of jobs and residents to our neighboring states, New Jersey needs to accelerate our economic progress.

This starts by bringing together business leaders from around the state to craft a platform and smart policies to aide in our growth. Opportunity NJ wants to make sure the major party candidates for Governor, as well as all candidates running for our Senate and Assembly in both parties support common sense fiscal policies that help grow New Jersey’s economy.

We need your help.

On Monday September 18th, join hundreds of New Jersey businesses to help shape a new Affordability Agenda for all New Jerseyans at the first-ever “Affordability Summit.” The event will take place at First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset. Registration will begin at 8 a.m.

You will have the chance to hear from some very prominent speakers and be part of the discussions about how our state leaders should address the key issues still facing our state. There is much to be done if we are going to secure the economic health of our state. There is no more important time to do this than now.

To register, click here or call Opportunity New Jersey at 609-393-6998. To help offset the cost of the event, there is a $50 registration fee.

The only way to stem our tide of outmigration is to bring our economic policies in line with our direct regional competitors — Pennsylvania and New York

New Jersey has many positive attributes. We added almost 60,000 jobs in 2016, the state’s largest gain since 2000, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. We have among the best K-12 public education systems in the nation and a highly skilled workforce including the highest concentration of scientists and engineers in the world — more than 225,000 statewide.

New Jersey also has a strong transportation network. We are home to the Port of New York and New Jersey, the third largest seaport in North America and the largest and busiest maritime cargo center on the East Coast. And we are among the national leaders in logistics and distribution. New Jersey is also a great recreation state with more than 130 miles of shoreline, beautiful parks, and mountains.

Despite these great assets, New Jersey remains a significant outlier, both nationally and regionally when comparing competitiveness and affordability including our state’s high cost of living and its heavy tax burden. New Jersey’s border states, Pennsylvania and New York, continue to be the No. 1 and No. 2 outmigration states for New Jersey residents and are challenging our competitiveness.

To reverse this trend we must examine our policies on taxation, revenue generation, and spending, and we must do so through the filter of competitiveness and affordability.

Outmigration by the numbers

In February 2016, the NJBIA issued Outmigration by the Numbers: How do we Stop the Exodus? This report found that New Jersey lost $18 billion in net-adjusted gross income over a decade. We have now updated this data to include 2015 data and have learned the loss has since grown to nearly $21 billion over 11 years (2004-2005 through 2014-2015). Further, we found the largest outmigration group continues to be millennials followed second by those nearing retirement and retirees.

Last November, New Jersey took the first step in the long road toward comprehensive tax reform by phasing out the estate tax and sharply increasing the income tax exclusion for pension and retirement income. The estate tax elimination and the pension tax reduction should help stem the outmigration of seniors and small businesses. While this is a good start, there is much more that must be done.

New Jersey ranks in the bottom six of every single tax category — income, property, sales, corporate, and inheritance. And we are in the bottom 10 of all states in combined state and local debt. Further, New Jersey residents pay the fifth-highest percentage of their household income on rent of any state and pay the fourth-highest median monthly rent of any state.

New Jersey’s top income tax rate is 8.97 percent and ranks as the sixth highest in the country. Our neighbors to the north and the west offer a better income tax rate than we do, with New York’s top income tax rate at 8.82 percent and Pennsylvania’s income tax rate flat at 3.07 percent.

Out-of-control property taxes

New Jersey has an average property tax bill of $8,549 and collects $2,924 per capita in property taxes, both of which are the highest in the nation. New York at $2,435 and Pennsylvania at $1,338 per capita are considerably lower than New Jersey, as is the national per capita of $1,300.

New Jersey has the fifth-highest corporate income tax (9 percent) in the nation. New York ranks 24th, offering a lower corporate tax rate of 6.5 percent. While Pennsylvania has a higher corporate income tax rate at 9.9 percent, it has a much more favorable personal income, property, and inheritance tax climate that offsets this tax impact.

While New Jersey is in the process of eliminating the estate tax by 2018, we still have an inheritance tax. Only five other states — Nebraska, Kentucky, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Maryland — even have an inheritance tax. Further, while Pennsylvania has an inheritance tax, the state mitigates the impact of this tax on small businesses.

New Jersey’s debt picture is no different than its tax climate. We are near the bottom of the national rankings in every debt category. Overall, as of June 30, 2015 the state had more than $153 billion in bonded and nonbonded indebtedness according to the fiscal year 2015 state debt report.

The state’s high level of debt and the need to generate revenue to pay off the debt is a major factor that affects the ability to lower the state’s tax burden to improve the level of affordability for individuals, families, and businesses. However, we can no longer increase our tax burden in order to raise revenue to pay down this enormous debt. This would only make New Jersey even less competitive and would surely feed into an exit strategy for New Jersey businesses and residents.

The time is now to revisit and completely review our economic policies on taxation, revenue generation, and spending and we must do so with a sense of urgency. We must look at how we spend our tax dollars and be honest about the fact that our current economic paradigm is just not sustainable. Failing to do so now will compound the problem for the generations to come.

The only way to stem our tide of outmigration is to bring our economic policies in line with our direct regional competitors — Pennsylvania and New York. Becoming more competitive means becoming more affordable so that businesses will want to locate here and taxpayers will want to live here.